MADISON - The state is expected to take in $753 million more through the summer of 2021 than earlier estimated, giving lawmakers a small windfall as they work on the state budget.

Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday he would use $56 million of the additional money to immediately pay off debt, which he said would save millions in the long run.

The Democratic governor said he wanted to spend $33 million of the remainder on technical colleges and worker training and put what's left into the state's rainy-day fund. Under that plan, the state would likely set aside more than $650 million that it could tap into during the next downturn.

But Republicans who control the Legislature split on what to do with the money. An Assembly leader said he wanted to sock all of it away and a Senate leader said some of the funds could be used for building maintenance or road projects.

The state will take in the additional funds between now and June 2021 because of better-than-expected income tax collections from individuals and corporations, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau wrote in a Wednesday memo. The increased income tax collections will be offset by collections of sales taxes, cigarette taxes and utility taxes that are not as strong as initially estimated.

The rosy budget news comes as Republican lawmakers carve up Evers' $83 billion, two-year spending plan. They hope to give Evers their version of the budget by next month. He can use his veto powers to make substantial changes to whatever they give him.

Most of the additional money — $592 million — is expected to show up in the state's coffers by next month, before the new, two-year budget cycle begins July 1.

Under existing law, $291 million of the additional money would automatically go into the state's rainy-day fund.

But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau said he wants to pass a bill that would prevent that sum from going into the rainy-day fund.

That's because he believes some of the new revenue may come from tax overpayments that will have to be refunded. He said the state should leave some of the money sitting in its main account so it could more easily pay those refunds.

Much of the rest could go toward roads or maintaining state buildings, he said.

But GOP Rep. John Nygren of Marinette, the co-chairman of the Legislature's budget committee, said he wants to put all of the additional revenue in the rainy-day fund.

"Rather than tying it up in future projects that are going to cost ongoing money, (we're) actually looking at putting it in the rainy-day fund," Nygren said. "It's not fun but it's the responsible and reasonable thing to do."

Nygren said the Assembly Republican caucus wants to save the money in anticipation of an economic recession.

"Based on how often they happen we're kind of overdue," Nygren said. "So we think we're being cautious."

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke of Kaukauna said their caucus would also consider using the funds to reduce taxes.

“Now is not the time to go on a spending spree with one-time revenues," Vos said in a statement. "We refuse to spend in a way that we can’t afford."

As Republicans pondered what to do with the additional money, Evers said he was acting on his own to use some of it to pay off debt.

"After eight years of Republicans racking up debt on our state’s credit card, today we’re making one of the most significant additional debt payments in state history," Evers said in a statement.

GOP Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills, the co-chairwoman of the Legislature's budget committee, said she saw that move as hypocritical because Evers proposed raising taxes by more than $1 billion in his budget — a plan Republicans are rejecting.

"It's ironic to me that he's talking about retiring debt when he raised the debt so much in the budget," she said. "Why would he raise taxes as much as he did, especially infrastructure costs, and then come back and say he wants to cut that?"

Darling has not participated in Joint Finance Committee meetings since early May after she fell in Washington and hit her head. She said she hoped to return to the Capitol next week but may need to wait until after Memorial Day.

"I'm doing really well," she said of her recovery. "I cracked my head a good one."

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.

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